OBX Bird Blog

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Bird Calls from The Saints of Los Vientos

An excerpt:

Los
Vientos, Florida

March
28, 1989

Prue sat on the white coquina sand
of Los Vientos watching the pelicans dive into the water. She was fascinated by all manner of
birds. With binoculars pressed to her face, she was still and quiet, watching for
Florida’s sand hill crane, a bird much rarer than the grey osprey. The sand hill crane’s mating song,
which Prue had heard only once, was two cheetah-like female calls answered by a
long cheetah-like sound from the male, the calls repeating until the birds
met. It was a love song. With their long legs and pointed beaks,
the tall cranes soared through the sky with a wingspan of six feet. Prue had seen a flock of at least fifty
birds flying together. Dr. Neal
Carl, who worked at the St. Mark’s Nature Reserve, told Prue that the sand hill
crane’s cousin lived all the way in Siberia. “It’s a rare bird.
A sight to behold.” What
kind of birds do they have in Lithuania?
She couldn’t wait to meet her grandfather. Does he like birds? Her father liked birds. He was the one who’d sent the
binoculars: a Christmas present.
He’d written a card. You are always on my mind. It was a Willie Nelson song. Did
he mean it? She was twelve the
year the binoculars arrived. Am I always on your mind? She still didn’t know.

Her
mother said, “Bird watching is for old people who have nothing better to do
with their time.”

“Then I guess I’m an old people.”

Her father had
also written that he’d try to see her the next Christmas. Five Christmases had passed without
him. You were always on my mind.
If I made you feel second best, Girl I’m sorry I was blind…

Today, Prue saw
the Sand Hill Crane. She got to
her feet. There were only four of
them, two males and two females, majestic with long legs, their beaks a hundred
blended shades of brown. The first
one flapped its wings; its feathers appeared burnt red in the sunlight. Its wings billowed and dropped,
billowed and dropped. The next
three ascended from the marsh.
Within seconds, the four birds soared effortlessly overhead. Prue reached back and touched her
scars. Then, adjusting the
binoculars, spoke to the sky: “I
want to fly.”

#

1941,
Exact Date Unknown, Speculation, Conjecture

There’s a chance that Alexandra
Zilius, Frederikas’ mother, who, as you know, loved birds so much she birthed
one, saw the sand hill crane’s cousin in Siberia.

There’s a chance
that after the cattle cars had stopped and the dead mothers and babies were
deposited into waiting mass graves… that Alexandra, who’d once sung arias, was
showered and deloused, and after a wind-and-frost burned man pointed to a
Soviet sign needing no interpretation: Work
is an Honor, that Alexandra, Freddie’s loony-goony grandmother, spotted or
heard one of only 10,000 sand hill cranes then inhabiting eastern Siberia. It would’ve been a bird she’d never
seen, and she would’ve been in awe of its size, in its ability to traverse
continents, and of course, in its song.
There’s always a chance.
And my bet is that if she wasn’t rolling “wee” down that green hillside,
she must’ve seen and heard that bird.

Post a Comment

The books arrived!!!

Become A Fan

SIGN UP

EVENTS

March 1, 2015

Book-Launch Party, 2-5 pm, Northside Grille, 1217 Bellevue Avenue, RVA 23227; Books will be available through Chop Suey Books 2 days before they are available elsewhere! Go Indie! Michele will be on hand to sign books and drink wine.

Michele

Above Us Only Sky

Above Us Only Sky is the story of two women separated by oceans, generations and war, but connected by something much greater--the gift of wings.

Today, I am proud to announce that it will be published in early 2015.

This novel was, like all books, a labor of love. This story was inspired by so many things, big things and small things, pieces hard to describe. Here's an attempt: marzipan, WWII survivors, victims, scars, birds, girls, loneliness, family, flight, plight, friendship, sunrise, sunset, lust, loveliness, magic, wings, goony birds, sparrows, pelicans, best friends, moonlight, lightning, everything frightening. My heart is in this book. It is a lush work. Lush is the word that I keep coming back to. I can't wait for you to read it! I think you'll feel like flying.

Followers

Family

Book Tour

At Word Brooklyn with Heidi Durrow

Perry Block, Humor Writer and More

#18 Somebody who is 60 remembers a time when the expression "sucks" sounded downright dirty, and probably was.#19 You think Foster the People is a social program under the Obama Administration.

Perry on Fallophilia: "While normal in appearance, those afflicted with Fallophilia may waxpoetic about the beauty and charm of small New England villages, extol supposed virtues and wonder in fallen leaves and crisp clear evenings, or sigh contentedly while reading poetry by Robert Frost. All of which begs the question:Don't these crazy ass people know what's coming next?!!"